xiii, 241 pages ; 25 cm

"[The author] reveals [in this book] that a shocking 4 percent of ordinary people--one in twenty-five--has an often undetected mental disorder, the chief symptom of which is that that person possesses no conscience. He or she has no ability whatsoever to feel shame, guilt, or remorse ... They can do literally anything at all and feel absolutely no guilt ... Fundamentally, sociopaths are different because they cannot love. Sociopaths learn early on to show sham emotion, but underneath they are indifferent to others' suffering. They live to dominate and thrill to win ... To arm us against the sociopath, [the author] teaches us to question authority, suspect flattery, and beware the pity play. Above all, she writes, when a sociopath is beckoning, do not join the game"--BooksInPrint

Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-232) and index

Introduction : imagine -- The seventh sense -- Ice people : the sociopaths -- When normal conscience sleeps -- The nicest person in the world -- Why conscience is partially blind -- How to recognize the remorseless -- The etiology of guiltlessness : what causes sociopathy? -- The sociopath next door -- The origins of conscience -- Bernie's choice : why conscience is bettter -- Groundhog day -- Conscience in its purest form : Science votes for morality

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